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Go Lay Down

Posted on June 8, 2016June 7, 2016

“Go Lay Down”

A phrase every working dog around here needs to learn… Lucas and Dally have it down pat… Eden needs some work!  I remember Elsa having problems with it, as well, and I guess that gene is in little Eden.

When you have gathered a pasture, or moved your herd, you can hold them in one spot, letting the cows and calves find each other, or do what we do.  We hold the herd, then pair them out, matching ear tag numbers, mother and baby.  This entails easing your horse in, gently steering the pair away and out from the bunched herd.  Momma knows where baby is, and baby is trotting at momma’s heels, both happy.  If you don’t do this, they will return to where they last saw each other… five miles and a different pasture away!

I tried this with Eden the other day… telling her to Go Lay Down… then noticed she’s at the heel of my horse, walking into the herd with me!!! Get Out!  Then Mommas are unhappy and start chasing the dog and it’s Ugly.  I had to quit because the dog wouldn’t Go Lay Down.  We shall practice!

I don’t care where they lay down, so long as it’s out of the way… So, I don’t want to drop them with a Down command, because, hey, we’re gonna be here for another hour, go lay in the shade!

Enter one lonely tree on a windswept prairie.

lone treeIt survives just down the hill from the sorting grounds.  Its root system is kind of unique.

lone tree rootsIt’s a little on the furry side.

tree rootsSure enough, Tuff and Dally chose this lone tree as their choice of Go Lay Down spot.  It is a fine choice!

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7 thoughts on “Go Lay Down”

  1. Irmgard says:
    July 16, 2016 at 2:09 PM

    Brave, marvellous tree, and good, hard-working pups. You know, the last picture would make a fantastic puzzle… 😉

    Reply
  2. Sandy G. says:
    June 11, 2016 at 3:29 PM

    A fine shady spot, indeed! ;-}

    Reply
  3. Della says:
    June 8, 2016 at 3:14 PM

    That’s a cool tree.

    Reply
  4. Marilyn O says:
    June 8, 2016 at 2:20 PM

    What kind of tree is that??

    Reply
    1. Carol says:
      June 8, 2016 at 10:00 PM

      It’s a cedar tree.

      Reply
      1. Marilyn O says:
        June 10, 2016 at 5:50 PM

        Thanks! Even with a close-up it was hard to tell because of those
        above ground roots!

  5. KrisH says:
    June 8, 2016 at 6:23 AM

    I had to chuckle, because I had never thought of this as a separate command, even though it is. And it gets used here all the time. A dog comes to stick its nose in your picnic plate, a dog hears the word “walk”, a dog is barking when it shouldn’t be….lots of uses for “Go Lay Down!” Same with “Knock It Off!”

    Reply

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Carol, Wyoming rancher

Since 2008, I’ve kept this photographic journal of life on our working Wyoming ranch.  I share ranch work, my family, crafts and DIY, my English Shepherds, Bravo and Indy, and a love for this land.  Enjoy this red dirt country!

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